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The 'French paradox
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A recent trend that moderate red wine consumption is beneficial to health has become widely accepted and even more focused on in the research field. The ‘French paradox’, popularized by Renaud and Lorgeril in the 1990s is responsible for this recent curiosity. It revealed that while France is traditionally one of the highest consumers of saturated fats and cholesterol, it has one of the lowest rates of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and mortality.1
http://authoritynutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/saturated-fat-heart-disease-in-europe.jpg
Red wine is accountable for such trends because it is consumed in the highest abundance in France, and it was first thought that the alcoholic (ethanol) components were responsible for such findings. Recent studies have focused more specifically on red wine because it holds a special group of natural ingredients found in grapes called, polyphenols.2 These are not found in other beverages containing the same ethanol components. While they have been known to be beneficial in their antioxidant abilities which reduce premature aging and disease, many studies have tried to target one specific polyphenol, mainly catechin, as being responsible for driving mechanisms that reduce risk factors for disease, especially CHD.3 With respect to the ‘French paradox’, the question remains, is catechin primarily responsible for the mechanisms involved in reducing CHD or do they collectively contribute aiding CHD health?
In many studies, polyphenols have been found to have antioxidant properties that participate in two mechanisms associated with risk factors for CHD. They contribute to reducing heart disease by preventing a chemical reaction (oxidation) of bad cholesterol (LDL), which stops forma...
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...nthesis by cultured endothelial cells; Clinical Science: 2002. 103: 72-75.
10. Faustino RS., Sobrattee S., Edel, AL., Pierce GN., Comparative analysis of the phenolic content of selected Chilean, Canadian, and American Merlot red wines. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry; 2003 Jul; 249(1-2):11-9
11. Huxley RR, and Neil HAW. The relation between dietary flavonol intake and coronary heart disease mortality: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003; 57: 904-908.
12. Guiliano, Mireille. French Women Don’t Get Fat New York, 2005.
13. Mezzano, Leighton F, Strobel P, Martinez C, Marshall G, Cuevas A, Castillo O, Panes O, Munoz B, Rozowski J, and Periera J. Mediterranean diet, but not red wine, is associated with beneficial changes in primary haemostasis. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003; 57: 439-446.
The Roman writer and naturalist Pliny the Elder, in his treatise Naturalis Historia states “there is nothing more useful than wine for strengthening the body, while, at the same time, there is nothing more pernicious as a luxury, if we are not on our guard against excess.” Years before he wrote those words, wine had in fact come from humble origins outside Italy itself. Furthermore, the process of fermenting grapes goes back thousands of years, and its beginning can be traced to where the wild grown grape-vine, vitis vinifera, flourished and was actively utilized for this reason.
Economic returns in the global market place have been influenced by trends in wine consumption. Figure 2 shows a trend of decreasing wine consumption from 2007 - 2011 in most old world countries while new world countries were increasing their consumption. This is due to the diversification of alcoholic beverages in the old world countries and the growing wine popularity in the new world
In the span of only a few pages, L.B. Church has given us an overview of the winemaking process. He has done so with sufficient detail for those in the chemistry community to follow along, yet still in a cursory enough manner as to not bog them down with the unnecessary. Written as if it were the procedure of an experiment, he has given enough information for the experiment to be repeated, tested, validated and improved upon. And that is almost assuredly his goal from the very beginning, as it must be for any published author in the chemistry community.
Atherosclerosis is the culprit behind coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, which is the most common cause of death worldwide and in the United States10. Among the modifiable risk factors of CHD and stroke is the serum low density lipoprotein level (LDL)8, 11. Several randomized clinical trials have established that reducing the serum LDL level results in a reduction in the future risk of CHD and stroke in a linear relationship, in one study it was estimated that reducing the LDL by 1% would reduce the risk by 1.7 %.1-4, 7, 9, 13 Lipid altering drugs include several classes of medications each of which have their own mechanism of action. Statins inhibit HMG CoA reductase (hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase), which is the rate-limiting enzyme for the production of cholesterol in the liver. Statins competitively inhibit this enzyme and induce an increased expression of LDL receptors in the liver.
The Association of UK Dieticians 2012, Hypertension, The British Dietician Association, viewed on 10 May 2014, < https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/hypertension.pdf>.
Phenolic acids are secondary plant metabolites widely distributed in foods, especially fruits and vegetables. In recent years, phenolic acids have attracted a lot of attention because they exist ubiquitously in plants and play protective roles. Phenolic acids possess interesting biological properties, (Beilin, Stocker, & Croft, 1997) that render them interesting to study. They are widespread in crops such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, and seeds and derived foods such as juices, wines, and oils, (Graf, Ameho, Dolnokowski, Milbuty, Chen, & Blumberg, 2006). Phenolic compounds play a key role in thwarting the negative impacts of oxygen and nitrogen reactive species (ROS/RNS), maintaining the redox homeostasis of biological fluids and preventing conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, and other degenerative pathologies, such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, (Shahrzad & Bitsch, 1998).
Alcoholism accounts for more than 15% of health care costs in the elderly. It is associated with an estimated 100,000 deaths per year in the United States. Alcohol consumption can produce both benefits and risks. In terms of benefits, men who drink two to six alcoholic beverages per week have decreased mortality rates and lower cardiovascular disease when compared with abstainers. On the negative side, two studies of 300,000 men demonstrated increased mortality among those consuming more than 2 to 3 drinks daily. Women, are more affected by less alcohol than men, perhaps because they have a lower blood volume, and so it’s distribution and decreased activity for gastric alcohol dehydrogenase are increased.
In summary, two of the effective components which can prevent heart disease in edible vegetables have already been found—the lycopene and dietary fiber. They have various edible sources for people’s consumption. While much has already been learned about these two biologically active substances, much remains to be learned. It is also important to understand the possible influence of other biologically active components, as well as people’s daily diet to keep cardiac health according to the research.
The website http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/hd.html 2. The website http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/931375421.html 3. The leaflet “Eating for your heart” by British Heart foundation, issued September 2001 4. The encyclopaedia Britannica 2004 5. The Book “Advanced biology, Page 158, issued 2000 by Grace Monger 6.
Moll, J. (2008, October 06). Can The Mediterranean Diet Lower Cholesterol. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from About: http://cholesterol.about.com/od/cholesteroldiets/a/mediterranean.htm
The older the wine the costlier it sells. Most of the wines are stored in wooden barrels, as it enhances the taste and colour of the wine. Process & Chemistry in Wine Industry Grape juice contains 79% water & 20 % carbohydrates, 1 % organic acids and, phenolics, vitamins, minerals and nitrogenous compounds. Grape juice gets its flavour from the sugars, organic acids and phenolics, while the vitamins, minerals
Generally speaking, other alcoholic beverages can be viewed as being a substitute for wine. However, specific substitution of wine in the New World is low because most individuals prefer to purchase wine from a retail facility instead of producing their own. Where as in the Old World the option of producing wine...
The French society drink wine with every meal, even allowing the children to often times join. We may consider it wrong, but it is not leading to degenerate behavior, so who are we to say it is wrong?
Flavonoids may also lessen stiffening of the blood vessels, which is a common side-effect of aging (WebMD, 2004). It is to be noted that white and milk chocolate do not have the same effect on the body as dark chocolate. These are unfortunately more likely to expand your waistline than improve health. “Chocoholics” are still at risk for obesity, whic...
Alcohol and tobacco use may lead to major health risks. Alcohol is associated with chronic liver disease, cancers, cardiovascular disease, acute alcohol poisoning, and fetal alcohol syndrome, while smoking is associated with lung disease, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Alcohol and tobacco cause more than 80 percent of cases of mouth and throat cancer in men and more than 65 percent in women. People who smoke and drink at same time, it is dangerous to mouth and throat cancer increases dramatically. In fact, the combined risk is greater than or equal to the risk associated with alcohol multiplied by the risk associated with tobacco. The American Heart Association estimates that more than 34 percent of the United States population has some form of cardiovascular disease. First, cardiovascular disease encompasses a variety of conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, and hardenin...